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\nJoin us for the SouthCoast Chamber'\;s133rd \;Annual Business Meeting!
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Don'\;t miss one of the Chamber'\;s premier events which draws over 300 prominent \;business leaders and government officials. The program includes the election of the \;Chamber?s Board of Directors\, recognition of outgoing board members\; and the presentation of several Chamber and community awards.
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\n \;The 133rd Annual Business Meeting will feature keynote remarks from Ed Lambert\, Executive Director of Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education &\; Former Mayor of Fall River. \;Mr. Lambert will discuss education attainment\, funding measures\, accountability\, while recognizing regionalism as a key factor in preparing a successful workforce.
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\nEd Lambert is the Executive Director of MBAE. \; Previously he was vice chancellor for government relations and public affairs at the University of Massachusetts\, Boston where he served in the Chancellor'\;s cabinet responsible for all external relations and related functions including community relations\, government relations\, community partnerships\, economic development communications\, and marketing. \; \;
Before that Ed was Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation where he managed a 2\,700-employee department with responsibility for overseeing the stewardship of more than 450\,000 acres of forests\, parks\, greenways\, historic sites\, seashores\, reservoirs\, watersheds\, and numerous recreational programs. \;
\n \;\n\nEd was founding director of the Urban Initiative of UMass Dartmouth\, a research center focusing on urban policy issues and the provision of technical assistance and independent research to communities and organizations throughout the state. In this role\, he helped to form the Gateway Cities Coalition\, which includes a number of cities whose mayors and city managers are now working to revitalize their communities with the support of state leaders and policymakers.
\n \;\n\nEd'\;s remarkable record of public service also includes twelve years as the mayor of Fall River\, Massachusetts\, seven years as a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives\, and over twenty years on the Fall River School Committee. As mayor\, he worked on urban redevelopment and economic development initiatives\, on improving and building numerous schools\, on providing effective municipal services\, and on a range of other public policy projects including the state'\;s first bioreserve\, which has protected approximately 14\,000 acres of forests and wetlands in southeastern Massachusetts. \;
\n \;\n\nIn addition to his work in the public sector\, Ed has served as the director of social services at Saint Vincent'\;s Home in Fall River. He earned his BA in psychology at Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth) and his MEd in counseling at Bridgewater State College.
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